As Constant as the Northern Star
by amerikanka
Summary: Frank and Alice Longbottom have survived the war. The last thing they expected was a quiet night at home to turn into one of terror. 2nd place in the HPFC Shakespeare Quotes Challenge!


Thanks goes to a fantabulous beta, **MaidenStar**! This was written for the Shakespeare Quote Challenge over on the Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenge forum. The quote this was based on is at the end.

* * *

Dusk was falling over the small house by the lake, and everything was as perfect as it could be. Alice was sitting with Neville on the couch, cuddling the small baby while Frank washed up the dishes and put them away. The cold chill in the air lent a hand for a brilliant sunset that Alice watched out the window, holding up baby Neville so he could see as well. "Look, Neville. Look at the colors."

"Ko'ors!" Neville said, smiling broadly and pointing a chubby baby fist out the window. Alice laughed as Frank walked in, drying his hands on his robe. "Dada!"

"That's my boy," Frank took Neville from his mother and tossed him gently into the air.

"Frank, don't throw him!" Alice scolded, rescuing her son from her husband.

"Oh, he likes it, look. My dad did it to me and I turned out just fine."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "That depends on who you ask." She was going to say more when he pressed his lips to hers, shutting her up with a kiss. She shook her head at him when he released her, not that she hadn't been kissing him back. Neville squirmed up in between them and Frank wrapped them both in a hug as the fire colored the horizon.

They sat like that in silence for a while, until it got too dark to see and Alice lit the candles with a few flicks of her wand. Heaving a sigh, she moved to stand up but Frank held her in place. "Where are you going?"

"I'm just going to Floo Emm. I told her I would once every few days." Frank nodded and Alice walked over to the fireplace, tossing in some floo powder and sticking her head into the flames. Once the other end of the connection was made she saw Emmeline's place, the Sea Tower.

It was empty which, while strange, was now to be expected. The war was over, after all, and the Ministry had things under control. There was no need for any more Order members to die.

"Emm?" Alice called, scanning the main floor of the Tower for her friend.

"Alice," Emmeline greeted, appearing on the spiral stairs. She was clearly not sober, and Alice didn't want to know what was in the cup she held. "What're you doin' here?"

"Emmeline Vance, you shouldn't be drinking."

Emmeline gave a wry smile and toasted Alice with her cup. "Yes Mum."

"Emm, really." Sighing, Alice dropped that topic. She knew Emmeline had a reason to be drunk—she had several reasons, all with names Alice had known and called friends too—but that didn't excuse it.

"I just wanted to let you know we're all right. Neville and Frank are on the couch."

"Good. S'good to hear. Can I see m'godson?"

Alice nodded, trying not to let her concernfor her friend show on her face. Emmeline was the godmother of Neville, true, but Alice was starting to wonder if she'd made a mistake. Even though the war was over (it still seemed strange to say it) and they were supposed to be safe, the Longbottoms were re-entering society slowly. The Fidelius Charm had been one of the first things to go, and she still felt strange and vulnerable without its protection. "Frank," she called over her shoulder. "Can you bring Neville over? Emm wants to say hi."

They traded places, Emmeline being the one to look out of Alice's fireplace rather than the other way around. She smiled softly at the baby, who was reaching for her and saying "Emm! Emm!"

"Hey there kid," Emmeline said gently. Alice saw tears welling up behind her eyes and looked away— Emmeline had been the strong one, or maybe that had just been because she had had someone even stronger to lean on. Two someones. Emmeline reached a hand through the fire that shook slightly, and Alice bit her lip. She _hated _seeing her friend like this, weak and helpless. Neville wrapped his pudgy baby hand around her fingers and Emmeline laughed, a heartbroken sound.

"Nothin's gonna happen t'you, Neville. I promise. Benjy promised too, an' everyone promised, but I promise _more_..."

"Okay, Emm. You need some rest."

Emmeline shook her head as Frank took Neville away. "Yes, Emm, you do. I'm coming over." Alice stepped through the fireplace before Emmeline had a chance to protest. She looked up at Alice from where she was sitting on the floor. "I _promise_, Alice."

"I know. Come on, off to bed with you." Alice helped her friend up and led her up the Tower stairs, waiting outside the room as Emmeline changed for bed. She managed to take away the cup of strong smelling alcohol before pulling the covers up to Emmeline's chin. "Sleep well."

"I promise..."

"Go to sleep, Emm."

When Alice was back at her own home, she sat down on the couch with a tired sigh, seeming to have aged twenty years. "She's too young to be acting like this, Frank."

"Her best friend died."

"I know, I understand, I just don't like it. I just want her to be okay and maybe I'm selfish but she needs to be okay, in case anything happens to us. She needs to be there for Neville if we can't be."

"Alice, the war's over. You-Know-Who is gone."

"I know, I just... I'm still scared." Frank pulled her into a hug again and she let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. It had been like that so much over the past few years; they had always lived on edge, waiting for something to happen, waiting for someone to be attacked or to get the news too late.

"Whatever happens," he said, voice low as he cradled Neville in one arm and Alice in the other, "I love you. I know you know that, so hold onto it. You can think whatever you like about what's going to happen, but that's never going to change."

"I love you too, Frank. And if I die—"

"Don't talk like that." He brushed a hand along her jaw, drawing a reluctant smile from her. "We've made it so far, and for the last time, the war is _done_. Once Emmeline has had her time to grieve, she'll be an excellent godmother, and if I have anything to say about it, she'll never need to look after Neville for us besides free babysitting." Alice laughed weakly and Frank kissed her forehead.

They sat in silence for a while, Neville falling asleep in his father's arms. He had never been a problem baby, and Alice knew inherently, a mother's instinct, that he would grow up to be a polite boy. And she would be there to watch him. She _would_. "What do you think has happened to Harry?" She tried not to think about the Potters—the wounds were too fresh. It had barely been two weeks since they got the news, awful and wondrous at the same time. She shouldn't have smiled the day her friends died.

But she had, they _all_ had, because finally the shadow had lifted.

"I don't know," Frank said lowly. "We have to trust that Dumbledore is right in whatever he's done."

"Hagrid says that Black showed up to try and take Harry away." Alice swallowed hard as she spoke, placing a hand on her baby.

"But Hagrid didn't fall for that, and Harry is safe."

"I..." Alice closed her eyes. She could always be insecure around Frank and trust him to reassure her; it was one of the many things she was thankful to him for. "Black is Harry's godfather, just like Emm is Neville's godmother, and what if..."

"Emmeline's not like Si...Black." He could read her mind too sometimes, and he got directly at her roundabout hint. "She's drowning herself in her grief right now, and she's got reason to. But I trust her, and you should also, to know when to do the right thing. You know if we were in trouble and she knew, she would be over here as quickly as she could Apparate. And you also know that any danger to us would sober her up immediately."

"But how do you know?" Alice asked, desperation creeping into her voice.

"Because I believe in love," Frank responded simply, looking into her eyes. "Emmeline loves you and Neville more than you know. She would do anything to protect you, as would I." When Alice seemed uneasy, Frank continued. It wasn't the first time he had needed to reassure his wife. She was an Auror and a good one, but when it came to her son she was just terrified, and she hated that she was scared. "Listen to me, Alice. Emmeline has been your best friend for years. She is nothing like Black. She is not a traitor, and she would never sell you out and plot to kill Neville. Never. Don't doubt me on this."

They were silent again, and then the silence was broken by the screech of a protection spell being shattered. Frank bolted upright and Alice took Neville. They exchanged a look before Alice ran to the hiding place they'd prepared for Neville and tucked him into it, gently as she could and yet still with as much speed as she could manage. She raked her eyes over his face, taking in the suddenly-scared lines of it. "Oh, Neville, shh. Shh. It's going to be okay, nothing's going to hurt you." She pressed a kiss to his face and then shut and locked the doors, sealing them with the most powerful spells she knew.

"Frank!" She screamed as she heard a crash from the door.

"Alice! Take Neville and go!" He called.

"There's no point," a smoky female voice said. "We've sealed you in."

Alice screamed again as she caught sight of a sleek, dark woman. She had always been afraid of Bellatrix Lestrange, even back when she was still Bellatrix Black. Anyone in their right mind was scared of her. "_Crucio_!" the black-haired woman shouted, pointing her wand at Alice.

It wasn't the first time the curse had been used on her, but it wasn't the kind of feeling that she would ever become used to. Her body arched against the ground, writhing in pain, and dimly she was aware of Frank shouting, roaring in anger. She was released from the curse after a few minutes (but it felt like days at least) and she struggled to breathe, gasping. Alice was pulled up roughly, her arms locked behind her back.

Her eyes met Frank's, who was across the room and being held like she was. "Alice," he said, voice choked.

"Be quiet," his captor said. Another person, hooded and masked, backhanded him across the face.

Frank shook off the blow. "Alice, trust me. She loves him. He'll be okay."

For a moment, Alice had no idea what he was going on about. When she realized what he meant, though, her eyes welled up with tears. "Frank," she stuttered out.

"Don't doubt her. She'll be there for him when we can't." He was cut off as he was hit again.

Alice picked up where he left off, wanting desperately to believe that he was right. "And she'll see him off to Hogwarts. And she will—"

"Isn't this touching?" Bellatrix purred. "When we're done with you we'll find whoever you're talking about and kill her. Where is your son? _Crucio_!"

Once the curse was lifted, Alice could feel the tears on her face. She slumped back against the man that was holding her, staring at Frank. "She'll teach him how to fly," Frank said, before he was hit with the curse himself.

They made eye contact again when he was released. "She'll listen to his fears," Alice said through her sobbing, giving Frank something to focus on. "She'll—"

"_Crucio_!"

"She'll give him chocolate when he's scared," Frank continued.

"_Crucio_!"

"I... I don't. I can't doubt her."

"_Crucio_!"

"I love you, Alice."

"_Crucio_!"

"Frank, I love you too. Like the...look, Frank. Look at the sun."

"It's night, you stupid woman. _Crucio_!"

"I see the stars. Alice, there is no sun. The stars burn like fire in the sky, I know why you're confused."

"_Crucio_!"

"You're lying, Frank. It's the sun."

"_Crucio_!"

"Alice... Alice, no sun."

"_Crucio_!"

"Our son..."

"_Crucio_!"

"No, Alice. Neville's safe."

"_Crucio_!"

"Sun... yellow. Bad."

"_Crucio_!"

"Alice... oh Merlin, Alice!"

"_Crucio_!"

"Alice!

"_Crucio_!"

"_Crucio_!"

"Alice."

"_Crucio_!"

"Alice..."

"_Crucio_!"

"_Crucio_!"

"_Crucio_!"

* * *

Doubt thou the stars are fire,

Doubt the sun doth move,

Doubt truth to be a liar but never doubt thy love.

_Hamlet, Act II, Scene II_


End file.
